First Time Spain
Hi Everyone , I would be grateful for any help/advice for first time abroad . I'm booked on Portsmouth to Bilbao on 8th January towing 7.5m Swift single axle . Have booked with the club and have 4 overnight site vouchers to use . Am thinking of travelling to southern Spain for the warmer weather but have not booked anywhere as yet . Any suggestions as to where to stop overnight on the way down ? Do the Spanish have municipal sites ? Are they any good ? Wife will require numerous toilet breaks , at home we just pull into layby and use the van , can we do this in Spain ? or do we have to use services ?
Any pointers greatly appreciated .
Am travelling tomorrow so will be evening before i can log-in again
Anyone else travelling on same ship or route ?
Comments
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Some stopover suggestions in this thread
You should find plenty of service areas on the motorway (autopista and autovia)
peedee
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Spain doesn't do municipal sites like France most are private owned and of a good standard with the top sites better then the CAMC but here lies a problem for you as most will be full or near to and when you are thinking of coming almost definitely, we live close to Alicante/Elche and all the sites in this area are nearing full.
The other thing Spain doesn't do is layby's but do plenty of service stations along the way which usually are restaurants that do cheap menu del dia but these are not the place to spend a night and campsites only on route.
Fuentes Blanca campsite in Burgos is a great first stopover from Bilbao and it has an excellent restaurant if you don't fancy cooking the locals use it also this campsite is in the ACSI book which is a good investment.
You say the South of Spain which part do you mean because it is a big country like I said I live in Alicante province which is classed as South but can travel 400 miles south and still be in the south in the Cadiz area.
South of Valencia is where the sun shines
Phil
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Spanish tolls are not so expensive as France. It is a while since I went directly that far south but as I recall It is worth paying the toll to Burgos and it is then toll free A1 to Madrid andA4/A44 to Granada and Malaga. If you have a sat nav select a toll free route from Malaga to Gib.
peedee
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John goes to Spain every year for the winter and by different routes. I found his blog of immense help when planning our trip.
https://jondogoescaravanning.com/2015/10/06/welcome-to-my-blog/
I also wrote a blog of our first trip
https://jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.com/2017/11/11/spain/
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The A7 is a toll free alternative to the AP7 from Valencia all the way down to Almeria via Alicante & Murcia. You do get a lot of lorries on it though. Keep an eye on your fuel gauge if travelling on a Sunday. A lot of the petrol stations close.
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Unfortunately the tolls are still in use in most places and don't became free till the contract expires for each company running them, some do expire this December but others not till December 2020 like the Alicante province. The tolls here are very cheap and well worth the cost in fact last week we drove too Madrid 290 miles and the cost of the tolls were 13 euros. Good Campsites are a bit thin on the ground this side of the border from Gibraltar the nearest I can think of is Bella Vista but that will be full now and the one in Estepona called Tropical small but just ok.
Phil
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Am thinking of travelling to southern Spain for the warmer weather but have not booked anywhere as yet
careful what you wish for, the weather in Spain is not great e.g. Torrevieja 13 degs today and raining, they once again have severe weather warnings in force and the A7 was in some places closed due to flooding yesterday, Scotland was 12 degs today. Going forward for Spain (Torrevieja) temperatures are not great and lots of rain/wind forecast so remember to take some warm clothing and waterproofs, some people still not returned to their homes from the Gota Friea of a couple of months back. Not trying to put you off but we were in Mazarron Easter last year and it was very cold and wet, but when the sun is out it is very nice.
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Waz. Most of the sites in S Spain on the coast will be pretty well full in Jan so go armed with books and a telephone and phone ahead to check availability. In fact it may be prudent to start phoning asap. The motorway route west of Madrid via Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca and Merida is pretty well free all the way down but may be out of your way. Re weather, it will be cold most of central Spain until you get a long way south - near the coast - so be prepared! In Salamanca in early Sep a couple of years ago we woke up to 3 deg! However, once you get to the south, Marbella/Malaga area, you will be unfortunate if the temp is not 18 - 22 deg but dropping quite chilly at night. There are many areas of west Spain where sites are few and far between; however, a little pre planning will find them, if not booked recommend you stop say 4ish to ensure you get in. Can't help as to the use of site vouchers as we have never used them. There are plenty of 'motorway stops' in Spain often just off the motorway but well signed and with normal price for fuel.
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We are on the same ferry route on the 15th January heading south to Bella Vista in Manilva for 3 months. We will be stopping at Fuentes Blancas in Burgos around 100 miles from Bilbao followed by Camping Casares on the edge of Casares Town. We reversed this route earlier this year to catch the ferry back from Bilbao. In January this year we sailed to Bilbao then stopped in Zaragoza (not the best but adequate for 1 night) and on to Alicante Imperium on the east coast. There are sites in Benicassim (Tauro) and Benicarlo (Alegria del Mar). You could have a look at the other clubs winter sun rallies they may have pitches available.
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The last couple of days have not been good here and I have had my wood burner on quite a bit but Proxima Fin de Semana looks good 20 or 21 Fri/Sat/Sunday which is about usual at this time of year. This year the weather as been pretty bad going from summer straight to winter with no autumn in one day in September.
Phil
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The weather in southern Spain is variable. Left Granada (altitude 2000+ ft) today at 12c, mainly sunny en route for Gibraltar. Sunshine most of the way to Malaga and beyond via A7 & MA20 to Marbella/Estepona at 18c and sunny for alfresco lunch. Not a hint of rain anywhere, but a little cool in the breeze. That said, Gibraltar had 4cm of rain (unusual) over 12 hours a few days ago.
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for current examples check out the coming week's weather for (say) Benicassim (north of Valencia) or Malaga further south and you'll get an idea about December (and onwards) weather.
we are also sailing 8th Jan from Poole to Cherboug and will be based in Benicassim for a couple of weeks. weve stayed there (and onward) for many winters and have no worries about the weather, it will be great compared to home.
enjoy.
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Success of a sort , i've managed to book in at a site near Villaricos . So all i have to do now is plan my route down there , will follow threads supplied for guidance but will be looking for first stop fairly close to Bilbao in case of sickness/wobbly legs off ship !!! I've got 2 and half days to do it so i wont be rushing as it's my first time (think i mentioned that) .
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you could go via Logroño (site here) and Zaragosa (site here) then onto Valencia and your destination. this is the same section we will cover after coming down the west coast of France from Cherbourg.
your route is about 9 hrs in total so should have plenty of time.
enjoy.
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David, no...i was trying (poorly?) to suggest that there were stopping campsites at the places i mentioned.
weve (like many) stayed at Zaragosa, i also have stayed at Camping Navarette, fairly close to Logrono, but it doesnt look like its open all year.
in fact, im having problems finding (literally) anything open on the ACSI website....operator error i imagine.
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further to the above...
it seems the 2020 date may not yet be loaded into the ACSI website database....strange though....as i can do selective searches for the remaining December '19 dates...odd.
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Please don't stop in service stations it is so dangerous specially near big cites, there are numerous cases already this year where foreign travellers have been targeted and robbed and no it wasn't the G word.
Only this week a French couple had their caravan stolen in a service station near to Jaen they went into the bar for breakfast and when they came out it had gone, also in the Valencian region the Guardia Civil have arrested a gang who were targeting foreign nationals on the motorway services.
Phil
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Waz51
The only option too Almeria is A1, AP1, M50, AP36 and then A30 too Murcia then south, along the A7 although this route does include the Madrid outer ring road this is the most straight forward and will include some tolls but well worth the cost. The M50 round Madrid is three or four lane motorway and is pretty easy but nothing like the M25 in London. Burgos and Aranjuez would be good stops but after Madrid you might have to do 250 odd miles in one go because I don't know of any campsites till you get to Murcia and this area is very baron although someone might be along to correct me.
Enjoy
Phil
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